Manhattan Island Marathon Swim 2012

MIMS weekend is upon us! A record 38 solo swimmers will jump at South Cove, in four waves, starting at 10:20am Eastern. At least 12 of the 38 are current Forum members (I may be missing some). They are indicated with asterisks in the list below, which is sorted by bib #:

I'ma bit surprised. It was tough & most people I talked to found the same. Utterly unaccectable pre-start conditions, a really nasty first hour to hour and a half depending on your speed, horrible Spuyten Divil, and horrible down the Hudson which had been predicted because of the late start and extra traffic.

The last stretch down the Hudson was insane, watching from the boat, because of the wakes and waves. Swimmers were navigating 4-6 foot waves at times depending on which giant pleasure boat was speeding past them at that moment.

You guys were amazing to watch! Congrats to all who swam and volunteered. Rough day for all, I'm sure :)

Sounds like they made you work for it this year, but still... 38/38 successes!

I'll have to crunch the numbers, but Steve Faulkner's 10:11 is one of the longest times-to-completion of the modern MIMS era (making a long day on the water for observer @david_barra). And the 2:41 gap between Abby and Steve may be the largest ever.

Hey @david_barra, would love to hear your impression of conditions given your experience on both sides and being used to reading water.

The Hudson is typically bumpy in the afternoon... from wind and boat traffic. Some years see a dramatic change from the Harlem to Hudson. This year, it really didn't get bumpy until midtown. It looked like a good day for a swim... not the fastest, but a day that allows everyone to finish is awesome.

The 1st hour felt horrible to me from bow chop from everywhere especially in lower east river and Spuyten Divel was a real grind. I came out under the railway bridge & all the held up boats came out after me, throwing wave after wave, lovely. How did they look?

The 1st hour felt horrible to me from bow chop from everywhere especially in lower east river and Spuyten Divel was a real grind. I came out under the railway bridge & all the held up boats came out after me, throwing wave after wave, lovely. How did they look?

Its a busy waterway. If it were easy to swim it, the race would be full of smart people. ;)

I thought the Hudson was very tame this year but agreed, midtown got a little dicier...in prior years the Hudson has always been bumpy so this was a welcome relief from a kayaker and swimmer perspective! Job well done to all swimmers, crew, volunteers, kayakers, safety vessels, and event staff!

Maybe it was just where I was positioned but I swam through a stetch of 4 foot waves and many long stretches of 3 footers. Last year as an observer it was dead calm on the Hudson until well below the GW Bridge. On the other hand we then faced a nasty south wind that threw up some good sized waves from the upper Westside to the finish, but at least the wave periods were constant. In the upper Hudson it was completely inconsistent and very frustrating. I breathe bilaterally every third stroke and there were many times that was more like 5 or 6 strokes because my head was under water.

The swim had all the elements of a premier event: limited field from around the world, a location that provides historical landmarks throughout, water temperatures (low 70's) that aid in success, an incredible volunteer army of support, and a distance that makes most people shake their head and say, "really"? No wonder this swim is part of the Triple Crown. I am thrilled I participated. Thank you New York and NYC SWIM!